Bulls to honour Hendricks with heart and grit at Loftus

The Bulls host the Dragons on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld, and while they will tearfully recall former teammate Cornal Hendricks, they will also understand that he would have wanted nothing more than an emphatic performance in his memory.

The 37-year-old Hendricks passed away on Wednesday from an ongoing heart condition. He had been playing a key role for the Boland Cavaliers in the SA Cup, and his Boland and Bulls teammates will take heart in knowing that he continued to do what he loved most — play rugby.

The Cavaliers, fittingly, have secured promotion to the Premier Division of the imminent Currie Cup.

Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone stated that Hendricks had been receiving the best possible medical care for the condition that had troubled him for some time.

“I need to state categorically that we got annual advice from Dr Wouter Basson, and Cornal was cleared to play for us,” Rathbone told News24.

“The reality was that playing rugby was not going to make his condition worse. There was always going to be a potential issue with his heart, whether or not he played rugby.

“Playing could have had an impact in the long term,” the Bulls boss added.

Rathbone said a sombre Bulls camp had undertaken a light workout before taking the afternoon off.

Ironically, he noted, the Bulls had been in discussions with Hendricks this week about a future role in Pretoria.

“We were talking to Cornal about a possible role here once he was done playing, because of the value he could have added to the Bulls.

“It was a great shock when the news came through of his passing, and our deepest thoughts are with his wife and three children.

“I don’t think there are words that can console them at this point in time,” Rathbone added.

“He will be unbelievably missed, because he was always the same person — whether he was selected or not.”